Adventures of a Farmboy
by Shandaro
Summary: All Kasey wanted to do was start a ranch... too bad the fate of the whole island is in his hands!
1. Whine and Dine

**PART 1: WHINE AND DINE**

"Renee! I'm right, ain't I?"

"Naw dude, you're dead wrong."

"Then... Candice," Owen took a moment to pause and recollect his thoughts over his coconut drink. His mouth curled up into a secretive smirk as he gave my back a huge shove. "Kasey! I had no idea you were that kind of a guy! A girl like Candice, eh?"

I gave my shoulder a rough jerk to shrug off Owen's hand. "No way. What kind of a guy is that, anyway?"

"You know," Owen took a grand swig of what was left in his glass, "the kind of guy that likes those shy, cute looking girls." He wiped at his mouth with his forearm, "You didn't seem like that kind of guy anyway."

"Hey," I said as seriously as I could, pointing a gloved finger in Owen's face—although it was hard to do after six strong drinks—"I'm not any kind of guy. I don't have some 'type.' I'm an equal opportunity man. If the right girl comes along, I'll grab her." I made a gesture, grabbing into the air with both arms.

"Right... so you're _that _kind of guy," said Owen, more to himself.

"Hey!—" But someone slammed a tray onto the table before I could show Owen what was what.

"Enough, you two. It's late." I looked up to see the barmaid, Kathy, her green eyes glittering in amusement, or maybe it was annoyance—I couldn't really tell.

"Aw, Kathy," Owen grabbed at her arm, "it's only 10! I was gonna order a couple more."

"Oh no," Kathy told him sternly as she jerked her arm away from his grasp, "you think I'm stupid enough to give either of you another drink? Sorry, we've closed up shop."

"But the place closes at 1!" I protested, to the best of my ability.

"Yeah, but the way you've both been chugging it all down, I'm afraid you'll put us out of business." Kathy quickly gathered our glasses before Owen could raise another protest. "Geez, Kasey! I know Owen's a tank, but what's up with you? I don't think I've ever seen you drink this much at one time before."

"It's a girl," Owen tried to whisper to her unsuccessfully. Kathy gave a puzzled look.

"No, Owen! For the last damn time, it doesn't have anything to do with any chick!"

"What is it then?" Kathy asked as she masterfully held the glasses in one hand, resting the other on her hip.

What was I supposed to say? That some creepy little sprite was following me around, ensuring that I fulfill errands for the "Harvest Goddess?" That, somehow, the things that were widely believed to be legend were actually true? That the fate of the whole village was in _my _hands, some newcomer? Yeah right. I already racked a couple of suspicions being the newbie in town; I didn't need people to think that I was crazy, too. "I can't say." I simply said.

"See?" Owen leaned back in the wooden chair now groaning in protest. "It's _definitely _a girl." Kathy simply nodded, partly convinced.

"So who is it?" She started, "Renee?"

Oh no, not again.

~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~

"Kasey?"

It had only been a couple weeks since I arrived on the island, but already I felt completely overwhelmed.

"Kasey!"

How could she put this on me? From the moment I arrived on the island, that Harvest Goddess or whatever sprung that annoying little sprite on me to do her dirty work.

"Kasey, Kasey, KASEY!"

What did I even care about this town after all? Wouldn't she have been better off handing the task to someone like the Mayor who cared about this town more than anything? Wasn't entrusting a newcomer with _so _much a little risky?

"KASEYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"What?!" I roared, turning to the little orange ball of energy named Finn. He was called a sprite or something. Although his head was larger than his body, and he wore a silly hat, he was still cute in a certain way.

"You're finally listening to me! We have to think about how we're going to ring the red bell. The Goddess said it should be in the mines. When will we go?" I fell back into my bed, looking up into the ceiling and following the various cracks and crevices with my eyes. I sat up now, looking around the one-roomed home. The inside wasn't so bad, but the outside of the house was in shambles. And that was another thing! How was I going to pay off my loan to Mayor Hamilton or remodel the house with this thing over my head?

"Kasey!" Finn pressed again, flying right in front of my face. "Focus!"

"Whoa! Too close! Too close!" I exclaimed, pushing him away. He seemed peeved, which was actually kind of funny to see. "Look here, sprite—uh Finn—I think should put all that bell stuff out of your mind for now. I'll get to it... eventually... but not now."

"But—"

"I'm really busy at the moment, ya see. The house is a mess, the barn's falling apart, and those turnips aren't going to plant themselves! So maybe next week or next... month... I'll uh..."

Little Finn crossed his arms in annoyance, resting on the center room table. "Kasey! You said that last week! Don't you see the town is suffering?! Crops are failing! Oceans are void of fish! Fire is hardly burning! We _have _to ring the bells as soon as possible!"

Geez, this little one was _really _persistent. "Hey, little dude! _Calm down_. I said we'd get to it! Just not _now_." I got up and headed to my refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of gin. I got a glass from the kitchen and set it beside him, filling the very bottom with the gin. "You know what your problem is? You just need to _relax_. We'll get to it. In the meantime, enjoy yourself." I pushed the glass a little nearer to him.

Finn gave me a blank stare. "What?"

"You heard me—"

Just then his cheeks glowed bright red as he knocked the glass off the table. I jumped over and grabbed the glass just before it could hit the ground. Unfortunately, the gin that was once inside of it was now all over the place.

"Hey Finn!" I protested, "You need to be more caref—"

"YOU CRUMMY ALCOHOLIC!" Finn shouted as he grabbed both of my cheeks in his little hands, "The Goddess is out there... SUFFERING! And you want to party and have _fun_? What's wrong with you? Get it together, Kasey! Stop your lollygagging, and get to it!"

At this, I slammed the glass on the table and pointed a finger at Finn, "Look here! I never asked for this, so don't act like it's my goddamn duty or somethin! I came to this town to start a ranch and _farm_. Not meet some sprite fairy and ring _bells_! So that's what I'm going to do, get it? And when I'm good and ready, I'll go out and—"

"Stop your whining!" Little Finn put his hands on his ears and kicked around in midair, "Don't you get this thing is bigger than you or me? Without the bells you _can't _farm! This town is slowly decaying, but you're too caught up in _yourself _to notice something so obvious! As a farmer, whose duty is to sustain their village and help it grow, this _is _your duty! More than almost anyone!" He was huffing now, still hovering in midair.

We stood in silence for a minute. I collapsed into my bed, weary and out of energy. The little guy had a point. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"That's my job." He said finally, "And the bells...?"

I sighed deeply before facing him again. "We'll head over to the mines tomorrow..."

His expression lit up immediately. "Great! We'll get there bright and early." I rolled my eyes, but he didn't seem to notice. I sighed again as I got up to put the glass back into the kitchen. Small droplets of gin still ran down the sides.

I turned to Finn suddenly. "Hey." Finn looked over at me, a silly smile plastered onto his face. "Sorry I tried to force that stuff on you." I pointed to the gin. "Would you like somethin' else to drink instead? I've got water. And... a little bit of carrot juice left." I said after poking around in my refrigerator.

Finn just shook his head. "It's okay. I can't really eat or drink."

Really?" I said as I walked over to pick up the bottle of gin to put away. "What... uh... happens if you do?"

Finn looked up at me, his eyes very wide. "...Pop!"

"I-I See," I told him stiffly as I put away the bottle of gin, making a mental note never to offer him anything to eat or drink ever again.

**Thanks so much for reading and sticking it out! Hope you've enjoyed and don't think Kasey's too much of an alcoholic...**

**Please review! :D**


	2. The Red Bell Part 1

**Thank so much, Hershey! I appreciate your review :)**

**ALSO, I forgot to mention this, BUT:**

**This fanfic follows the story of the bells pretty closely in AP (but there are changes), so if you haven't played the game or haven't gotten that far yet, there might be spoilers. Anyway, Read on and enjoy! **

**PART 2: THE RED BELL PART 1**

"It's not here Finn..." I was only starting to catch my breath as we stood in front of the red bell frame. My blistered hands tightened over the heavy hammer, and sweat beads rolled down my face. What a goddamn waste of time! I picked up my foot and slammed it against the empty frame. "Dammit Finn! The bell's not here! All this way for nothing! Shit!"

Finn just floated there, looking at the frame, eyes wide. "I-I don't get it... the frame's here... so where's the bell? The Harvest Goddess said it would be here..." I took a deep sigh as I sat down on one of the nearby boulders. Finn and I had been at it almost the whole morning—tunneling deeper and deeper into the mine looking for the red bell—and this was all we had to show for it? I lifted my hammer and threw it against a nearby rock, breathing heavily. Now what?

"Geez, Kase! Tired already? You're only a third of the way there!" I turned to face a smirking Owen, a heavy looking hammer in his arms. He skillfully twirled the hammer so that its head landed on the ground, and he leaned on it like a cane.

I scratched my head and turned back to the red bell frame. "Sup?"

"Whatcha starin' at?" Owen walked over to where I was sitting and followed my eyes. "What's up with the frame?"

I took another deep breath before turning to Owen. "Do _you _know where the red bell is? It's supposed to be hanging there on the frame." After all, no one was in the mines more than him.

"Red bell..." Owen put a finger to his chin. "Now that you mention it... I do remember a red bell hanging there usually..." Finn turned his head and our eyes met immediately.

His mouth curled up into a huge smile as he zoomed to where we were. "Ask him about it again! He might know where it is now!"

"Awesome, Owen! Do you know where it might be now?" I focused on him intently as he stood deep in thought.

"Hmmm... maybe..." Owen started. His eyes met mine, and he shot me a curious look, "But why do you _care,_ Kasey?"

Damn, so close! I racked up my brain for an appropriate answer, but came up short. "It just needs to be there." I thought again. "The island needs for it to be there. So _please _tell me so that I can get out of here." Owen gave me another strange look before returning deep into his own thoughts.

Suddenly his eyes shone with an epiphany as a smirk crept onto his face. He gave me another massive pat on the back causing all the air to fly out of my lungs. "Awww Kasey! Call me what you want, but I can see through a friend's lie a mile away." Shit. "You're trying to hide something, huh?" Shit, Shit, Shit. What did he know?

"N-Now look here, Owen—" I started.

"And I think I know what it is, too..." Owen gave a deep look of understanding as he sat beside me on a nearby rock.

"Hey Owen! It's not what you think!" He put his hand on one of my shoulders. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Kasey it's nothing to be ashamed about. It's not your fault." How could he even know? "Don't be ashamed if you're too tired to go on in the mines. Most people would be happy to have made it this far!" Huh?

I quickly pushed his hand off my shoulder. "Okay, okay, Owen! Do you know where the bell is or not?"

Owen got up and stretched his arms before picking up the hammer again. "Right the _bell_." He gave a wink. I rolled my eyes. "Well my cousin Chloe was going on about something she found in the mines a while back. You can ask her if you want. She's always finding weird stuff in the mines."

"Okay thanks, dude." I said as I rose up and dusted some dirt from my pants. Finn floated beside me as I headed to the exit of the mine.

"And Kasey!" Owen shouted from behind. I immediately turned to face him. "Practice makes perfect. Just keep practicing with that hammer and you'll get as good as me in no time!" He gave a big toothy grin as he waved good-bye.

Jerk.

-#-#-#-

"Red bell, huh?" Luke grabbed two glass cups and filled them with what I figured to be orange juice. "What's it look like?" He placed one glass on the table beside his seat and slid the other across to me.

I nodded a silent thanks as I took a sip. It was carrot. "Well I'm not exactly sure... but I'd bet it looks like a bell that's red." Luke stuck up his middle finger at me.

"Ha-ha very funny." He took a sip from his glass. "At least I'm tryin' to help!" His golden eyes danced to the far side of the room as the light played with the flames on his bandana. "What'd Owen say again?"

I sighed as I put my hands behind my head and leaned back on the wooden chair. "He told me to practice my hammer skills. Idiot thought the whole bell thing was an excuse! He thought I just couldn't make it any farther in the mines and was trying to make shit up."

Luke let out a huge laugh. "Typical." His eyes lit up as he leaned in. "But that dude sure is ripped! I'll be there soon though." Luke rolled up his sleeves and pointed to the muscles he had no doubt developed by chopping wood all day. It was pretty damn impressive, but not really on Owen's level.

I scoffed loudly. "I wouldn't say _soon_, but—"

"Hey! Shut up, farm boy! You sure shouldn't talk! You're not even halfway at my level! Farmers can't touch carpenters when it comes to bulk!" He beat a fist on the table, our glasses shaking in his wake.

"Yeah, yeah," I tried to look as cool and collected as possible, "I'm not there yet, but I damn sure will be. Look at Cain! That man's BUILT! That's what years of farm work does to a guy. Makes him a man like that!"

Luke grinned widely, enjoying this a bit too much. "Oh yeah? Well looka my dad! He's got to be one of the most built guys in town!" He leaped out of his seat and stuck out a finger in the air. "One match! One fight to the finish! Cain versus my dad! Pop would cream 'em, easy!" The air filled with silence as he stood there catching his breath after losing himself in his excitement. Our eyes met as we exploded into laughter. Luke was one funny dude. He always got worked up over the silliest things, and it was always entertaining.

Just then some guy walked in, seemingly looking for Dale. When he saw his service desk was empty, he walked over to our table. "Is Dale out?" He asked Luke, ignoring me completely.

"Oh," Luke looked up at the guy, who wore a very annoyed expression on his face. He had dusty orange hair with little clips attached to different parts of his head. His deep violet eyes narrowed at Luke's silence.

"Well?" The guy demanded.

"Oh yeah, sorry. He's out." Luke flashed him a grand smile, "But he'll be back in an hour's time!" But the dude wasn't having any of that as he sighed in annoyance and walked out the store.

"Who's that jerk?" I asked Luke in a hushed tone as soon as I heard the door of the shop close behind him.

Luke gave a tiny grimace. "His name is Chase. He cooks at the bar. Surprised you haven't seen him with all the time you've spent there." He shot me a cocky smile.

"Oh shut up!" I waved him off with my arm. "Why'd you hesitate anyway? When he asked you where Dale was?"

Luke eyed me with confusion for a second. "Oh, that?" The cocky grin reappeared on his face as he gave a hearty chuckle. "His girly little hairpins kept distracting me."

**Thanks for making it this far :D! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated :3!**


	3. The Red Bell Part 2

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! I appreciate them thoroughly. This chapter's a little longer than usual, but I still hope you enjoy! :)**

**ALSO, Just another warning that this fanfic follows the story of the Bells in AP pretty closely so if you haven't played the game or haven't finished it there will be spoilers.**

**PART 3: THE RED BELL PART 2**

The bright, warm spring sun was beginning to wane. I reached up into the reddening sky and stretched my arms. "Oh well, Finn," I started in the mists of a yawn, "we've been at it for a while now and still no red bell."

Finn blew up his cheeks as he zoomed in front of me. "Yeah, 'cause you've been yacking it up all afternoon with that blue haired guy!" I cleared my throat in an attempt to change the subject.

"I was going to say... we've been at it for a while, but the night is young!" I gave him a little wink as he folded his arms in annoyance. "Relax, Finn," I gave him a pat on the back, "we'll find it. Owen said his cousin Chloe might know something about it, so—"

"Aw! No fair, Chloe! Rematch!"

A little bout of giggles and then, "Okay, Bo! But this time, I ain't going easy on ya!" Finn and I turned around to watch Bo and a little orange-headed girl, who I presumed to be Chloe, zoom past us.

"Look over there, Kasey!" I turned in the direction of his little finger and saw some sort of a rusted object laying on the ground about 20 feet away. "That's the red bell!"

"See, Finn? What'd I tell you?" I grinned as I jogged towards the bell. I bent down to pick up the bell now as Chloe sprinted forward and kicked the bell high into the air.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!" She yelled, her cheeks glowing bright pink.

Finn made a face of death. "The bell!"

"Way to go, Chloe!" Bo ran up to where we were and put his hand on her shoulder. He framed his eyes with his hand as we watched the bell go higher and higher until it landed into someone's chimney. "That's the best I've seen so far!"

Chloe gave a cheeky smile, "Told you I was going easy on ya before!"

"Kaseyyyyyyy!" Finn started as he beat his little fists on my shoulder. "Do something!"

"Ouch, Ow! Okay!" I pushed him off me as I ran up to Chloe. "Hey little girl! Do you realize what you just did?!"

"Yeah!" Chloe's big eyes shone sky blue. "I just scored like A ZILLION points in kick the can!" She gave Bo a big high five. Definitely not the answer I was looking for.

"And did that even _look_ like a can to you?"I pointed a gloved finger to where the red bell once rested.

"Kick the can's just the name of the game, DUH! It doesn't have to be a can!" She crossed her arms. "But I'll have you know _that _was my new toy."

Finn started to flail in midair. "T-TOY?!" I didn't think I'd ever seen him that mad before.

"Look here, kid," I started sternly, "that's not a toy. That thing you just kicked is—"

"CHLOE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW?" The four of us turned around to see Ramsey, the blacksmith, red-faced with a hammer in his hands. He started to stomp closer and closer to us.

Chloe just kicked the dirt beneath her feet. "What do ya mean, grandpa? I didn't do nothin'."

"Oh really?!" His voice was softer now, but his face shone even redder up close. "Then why is it that something is stuck in my chimney, and now I can't use the fire?"

"I dunno..." Chloe continued to look down.

Finn zoomed in front of the angry old man. "She did it!" He proclaimed boldly. "This little... BRAT here! She's the one who kicked it!" Of course Ramsey couldn't hear him anyway.

I swiftly grabbed him and pulled him closer to me. "Watch it, Finn," I said under my breath. "Snitches get stitches! Remember that..." But he was hardly paying attention to me.

Ramsey gave a large sigh as got down on one knee in front of Chloe. "It's okay, kiddo. Just be more careful next time... what were you all doing anyway?" He looked around at me and Bo.

"Playing kick the can...," Chloe mumbled.

Ramsey sighed again as he got up, looking Bo and I squarely in the eye. "Then you two hooligans can help me solve the problem. Hop to it!" Then he turned to Chloe and reached out his hand. "Come on, kiddo!"

"But—" I started to protest.

"But nothing!" Ramsey demanded. "You were playing, so now take care of your mess. And at your age...unbelievable!" Ramsey took Chloe's hand and started to walk briskly. I shot her a dirty look as she turned around and stuck out her tongue.

Finn just stood there floating, wide-eyed. "Come on..." I gestured toward him.

"I can't believe this!" Finn huffed, "She's such a little BRAT!"

* * *

"Bah haha! The runt did what?!" Owen slammed a hand on the table, threatening to knock over our beers. The bar was filled with a low rumbling of a crowd; the place was always busy this time of night.

"You heard me! She kicked the bell right into the chimney and then let me take the rap for it! Ramsey was pissed!" Owen gave another hearty laugh.

"Leave it to Chloe to get herself out of any mess! That's my girl!" Owen took a large gulp from his mug.

I pressed my palm against my cheek as I watched him lick the froth off his upper lip. "Yeah, yeah... but then I had to spend the rest of the evening finding ores to help out the old man!"

"Hey," He pointed a finger at me, "least you got that bell thing you were lookin' for, huh? And I coulda sworn you made the whole thing up..." I rolled my eyes. He was right, though. Finn and I had secured the red bell. All that was left to do was to put it back on the frame and ask its sprite to ring it. However, since the bell could only be rung in daylight, we'd have to wait until tomorrow.

"What'd you need it for, anyway?" Owen asked raising an eyebrow. Oh no, not again...

Just then—to my luck may I add—Kathy appeared, her blonde ponytail dancing back and forth. "Good to know you're all havin' fun," Kathy smiled as she refilled our mugs with the cool, amber beer. "And look at you," She gave me a wink, "you don't look half as trashed as last time, and you're still havin' a good time!"

"Alright, Kathy," I took a quick swig of my beer as Owen laughed. "You can't hold on to that forever, you know. That was one time!"

"Hey, I know, I know!" Kathy laughed. "But now that I think about last time, we never got to finish that conversation we started." Oh boy... "Now who was that girl you were so shy about before?" Owen and Kathy shared a laugh as I rolled my eyes.

"Kathy! Fill 'er up!" Cain demanded from the other side of the room. He seemed completely drunk as he shot her a toothy grin.

"Okay, okay!" Kathy called. "I'll get you later!" She smiled as she rushed over to fill up his mug. Owen's eyes lingered on her frame as she walked away from our table. I rolled my eyes again. Who was the one with the crush?

Suddenly, a plate of fries plunked down on our table, and we jumped a little in surprise. Chase, the same jerk from before, set down a bottle of ketchup next to it without a word. He shot us a disgusted look and then proceeded to walk away back into the kitchen. So he really did work here...

"Geez, he scared me...," Sighed Owen as reached for the bottle of ketchup, pouring it on his side of the plate.

"That's the second time he's seen me, and he hasn't said a word..."

"You saw him before?" Owen asked, dipping a fry in the glob of ketchup. "Where?"

"Who does that jerk think he is?" I could feel myself seething as I rose up. "I think imma go back there and teach him a thing or two." Owen immediately grabbed my arm, trying to get me to sit down.

"Chill out, Kase," He smiled. "That guy's just like that to everyone. Leave him alone. It's not like he was personally attacking you or anything." I broke free of his grip and strutted across the bar to the back door of the kitchen. Maybe Owen was right, but enough was enough. Who did this guy think he was, treating people like that? I quickly turned the brass door knob and opened the door widely. Chase just stood there, chopping something on his cutting board. I stood there for about 10 seconds, still hearing the dull thuds of his knife against the board. So he hadn't noticed me come in. I slammed the door behind me as I marched up to his station.

His neck craned up in surprise; then his eyes narrowed. He still didn't say anything.

"Nothing to say?" I narrowed my eyes in response. "Huh?" He rolled his eyes and continued on chopping—thud, thud, thud.

"Hey, you!" I grabbed his shoulder this time. He looked up from my hand to my face back to my hand again, his eyes wide with shock. "You can't treat people this way! I'll be damned if I'll let you keep walkin' around here, actin' like you're better than me! Especially when you don't even know my name." He shot me a nasty look and then went back to his cutting. The clanking of his cutting board filled the air again. "Hey—" I started.

"Disgusting..." He mumbled.

"Huh?"

He picked up a piece of potato that he was cutting and threw it on the ground. "You're the new farmer, right?"

So he did know who I was... "Uh, y-yeah."

"We just got a new shipment of potatoes from your new farm, and I've got to say that's some of the nastiest shit I have ever seen." He scoffed coldly and pointed towards the discarded potato on the ground.

I could feel my cheeks reddening. "Wait a—"

"At first I was kind of hopeful that there was going to be a new farmer. Goddess knows with the fire hardly burning we need as good of crops as we can get our hands on. But this shit?" He proceeded to wipe of the contents of his cutting board straight into the garbage disposal. "Not even an _animal _would eat this."

"Y-You take that back!" I grabbed his shoulders and slammed him straight into the counter. His deep violet eyes glittered with no emotion.

"What? It's not like I lied. But it's no surprise you'd grow shitty crops," He smirked slightly, "with all the time you've been spending here getting drunk." I could feel my hand trembling and balling into a fist.

"Why you-!" I raised my fist, aiming it right at his cocky smirk. Suddenly, the door slammed open and I turned around to see a worried Owen. He caught glimpse of my hand and rushed to pull me back from Chase.

"Kasey, calm down! If Hayden catches one glimpse of this, he'll kick your ass outta here!" He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the kitchen. Through my peripherals I saw Kathy standing by the door, a worried look on her face. I knew I was out of control, but I couldn't let that son-of-a-bitch get away with something like this! Owen had a strong grip on my arm, but I managed to break through, rushing towards Chase. I saw him recoil a little unwillingly as Kathy let out a small shriek. But I only pointed a finger in his face.

"The next time... you throw away one of my crops like that..." I said through gritted teeth, "I'll beat the shit out of you."

**I have to say that his was my favorite chapter so far. Sorry if I made Chase too mean or Kasey too impulsive, but hey! No one's perfect :P.**

**If you enjoyed at all, please review! :3**


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